Wendelin Bitzan

10/07/2025

I will be appearing on stage with Vokalsystem Berlin again in two marvellous projects. The coming weekend will see the emergence of our interdisciplinary choral concert programme »Horizons«, comprising music by Raffaella Aleotti, Eric Whitacre, Roxanna Panufnik, and Caroline Shaw. Conductor Johannes David Wolff and pianist artschiloyan will be joined by dance collective Beljn6 and visual artists Blandine Casen and Marcello Busato. Come and visit us this Saturday, 12 July, 8 pm, or Sunday, 13 July, 6:30 pm, at Kühlhaus Berlin-Kreuzberg! There are still some tickets available at €17 and €12 (see link in the comments).

During the following weeks, I will be involved with other Vokalsystem members in a production of Johann Strauß Junior's operetta »Die Fledermaus«, forming part of this year's festival Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg. The staging is directed by Georg Quander, and the music is arranged and conducted by Christian van den Berg-Bremer. The premiere takes place on 2 August, followed by seven more performances through 15 August. If you're up for a colourful and entertaining evening of musical comedy, please visit the festival's website for tickets (link in the comments).

02/07/2025

This has been the most intense university semester I've experienced so far. My workload consisted of two half-time music theory positions in Düsseldorf and Dresden, which caused a considerable amount of commuting, and was supplemented by my part-time work as managing director of Tonkünstlerverband Berlin. In addition, I prepared lectures on Ravel and Shostakovich, absolved two job interviews, attended a large number of high school and music school performances of my children, continued with apartment hunting (an ongoing story), and improved and re-organised significant aspects of my private life. Now yearning for the semester break, and looking forward to share the stage with Vokalsystem Berlin again in two choreographical concerts and a delectable operetta production (details to follow soon).

05/06/2025

Dear colleagues, friends, and followers: I need your support!

My 14-year-old daughter Cosima passionately loves to play the harp. She started on a celtic harp five years ago and, after successfully participating in the Jugend musiziert competition, recently switched to the concert pedal harp, which enabled her to join the children's opera orchestra of the Berliner Staatsoper. She also composes, plays the piano, and sings in a girls choir.

Cosima currently practises on a rental harp that we were able to hire from an acquaintance, but it will only be available until September. Most harp dealers and private suppliers wouldn't offer concert instruments for loan, though, so we now seek to get funding for Cosima's first own harp to foster her further development and education. That's why I set up a crowdfunding (see link in the first comment). We would be delighted if you considered supporting this promising young artist by a donation of your choice!

18/05/2025

Gestern hat die diesjährige ordentliche Mitgliederversammlung im Tonkünstlerverband Berlin stattgefunden, bei der ein neuer Vorstand gewählt wurde. Ich freue mich, auch künftig ein dynamisches und vielversprechendes ehrenamtliches Team mit meiner Tätigkeit in der Geschäftsführung unterstützen zu können. Gewählt wurden Kaan Bulak als neuer Vorsitzender (im Bild rechts), Jens Domeyer als stellvertretender Vorsitzender, Anne Katharina Uerlichs als Schriftführerin, Christian Höffling als Schatzmeister sowie Anna Barbara Kastelewicz und Richard Nordemalm als Beisitzer*innen. Aus dem Vorstand verabschiedeten sich Alf Schulze (in der Bildmitte) und Agnes Stein von Kamienski, denen ich sehr herzlich für ihre wertvolle und prägende Verbandsarbeit in den letzten Jahren danke!

29/04/2025

Herzliche Einladung zu einem fluiden Lecture Recital im Rahmen des Semesterschwerpunkts »Musikmetropole Paris« der Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf. Am Dienstag, 6. Mai, um 19:30 Uhr spreche ich im Kammermusiksaal der Hochschule über drei der faszinierendsten Klavierstücke von Maurice Ravel. Ein liquiderer Titel als »Im Fluss. Ravels Wassermusiken für Klavier: Jeux d'eau, Une barque sur l'océan, Ondine« ist mir nicht eingefallen. Am Klavier sind Sukyeon Kim, Honoka Buyo und Dingyuan Chang zu erleben. Mal schauen, wohin der Wellengang uns treibt, es würde mich sehr freuen, euch dabei zu haben! (Details im ersten Kommentar)

14/03/2025

Looking forward to teaching an analysis class on the piano music of Maurice Ravel during the forthcoming summer semester at Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf. In addition, I will be speaking in a lecture concert on Ravel's water-inspired compositions on Tuesday, 6 May, 7:30 pm, in the school's chamber music hall, where I will share my thoughts on Jeux d'eau, Une barque sur l'océan, and Ondine. This is going to be an immense pleasure, and the more so if you could manage to come along!

12/03/2025

Special alert for Medtnerians in Berlin! Next week, on Wednesday 19 March, 8 pm, a delightful concert will take place at Piano Salon Christophori. As the Medtner Project celebrates the completion of their five-volume recording of all of Nikolai Medtner's vocal music, Ekaterina Levental and Frank Peters will be presenting a fine selection of songs and vocalises. Don't miss!

11/02/2025

Der Vorstand der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie hat eine Stellungnahme zu der im Mai 2024 erschienenen MULEM-EX-Studie zum Musiklehrkräftemangel veröffentlicht. Die Ergebnisse der Studie deuten darauf hin, dass Eignungsprüfungen in den Fächern Musiktheorie und Gehörbildung für Bewerber*innen zum Musik-Lehramtsstudium abschreckend wirken können, und werden so interpretiert, dass die entsprechenden Inhalte nur begrenzte Aussagekraft für die musikalische Eignung der Bewerber*innen hätten. Die Stellungnahme der GMTH, an der ich beteiligt war, setzt sich mit diesen Befunden auseinander.

Die Autor*innen der Studie empfehlen, für das Lehramt Musik auf eine Eignungsprüfung in Musiktheorie und Gehörbildung zu verzichten, um dem Rückgang der Studierendenzahlen entgegenzuwirken. Dies ist ein kontroverses Thema. Für eine solche Maßnahme wäre ich grundsätzlich offen, unter der Voraussetzung, dass ihr Erfolg zuverlässig evaluiert wird. Um einem Niveauverlust vorzubeugen, müssten dann musiktheoretische Inhalte, die bisher als Voraussetzung für ein Lehramtsstudium galten, in Gestalt eines Propädeutikums-Angebots in das Studium integriert und der entsprechende Kompetenzerwerb im Rahmen der ersten Modulprüfung kontrolliert werden.

Über Eignungsprüfungen in Musiktheorie und Gehörbildung Stellungnahme des Vorstands der GMTH zur MULEM-EX-Studie PDF-Version Im Mai 2024 wurde der Bericht zur Studie »MULEM-EX« (MUsikLEhrkräfteMangel – eine EXplorative Studie), die von der AG Schulmusik der Rektorenkonferenz der deutschen Mu...

20/01/2025

I have the pleasure of welcoming two invited guests to my current seminar on piano sonatas of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries at Robert Schumann Hochschule. The pianists will perform repertoire of their own choice and discuss it with the students, while I will add some analytic thoughts. Both sessions will be open for colleagues and friends, so if you happen to be in Düsseldorf and would like to come around, just let me know!

— Wednesday, 22 January, 9 am: Severin von Eckardstein will perform and talk about Nikolai Medtner's Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 22

— Wednesday, 5 February, 9 am: Kyra Steckeweh will present both of Dora Pejačević's piano sonatas, Op. 36 in B-flat minor and Op. 57 in A-flat major

19/01/2025

Excited to perform Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem today with Vokalsystem, Enchore, and Sibelius Orchester under the direction of Simon Rössler in the Philharmonie Berlin! The concert is sold out, but there will be a follow-up event for everybody interested: On February 15, 6 pm, you can join us for a singalong concert with the Requiem at Martin-Luther-Kirche Berlin-Neukölln. See link in the first comment.

01/01/2025

I am mourning the death of my friend and colleague Stephan Schönlau (1985–2024), who passed away recently during the Christmas holidays after a fierce battle against cancer for two and a half years. It is heartbreaking to lose a person of such sincerity, integrity, awareness, and kindness, and the more so if this person has been such a dear and valuable companion in professional and private life.

Stephan was a music theorist and lecturer at music universities in Berlin and Dresden, and also ran the page Music Theory Doctor. In his research, he opened up new perspectives on English and Italian Baroque music, and on the study of thoroughbass, passacaglia, and ground composition. As a member of the Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie and its working group for international affairs, he co-established and coordinated the lecture series of the society, and introduced his approaches to transcultural music theory and the integration of musics from a variety of origins in the classroom. In doing so, he contributed significantly to the advancement of the European music theory community. Moreover, Stephan and his husband, as a cross-continental and multiethnic couple, themselves were—and continue to be—a role model of diversity and plurality in many respects.

Stephan and I were in close exchange on a number of subjects, discussing the relations of music and politics, career paths in academia, and recent developments in European and American music theory. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to be in touch with him. Our communication has broadened my mind and prompted me to challenge my own views on several occasions. May he rest in peace; may his graciousness in everything he was doing set an example for others who share his ideals and convictions; and may his family and friends find consolation and comfort in the idea that his work will be an inspiration to many people who have known and met him.

16/12/2024

Für die aktuelle Ausgabe der Zeitschrift Die Musikforschung habe ich mich mit der Beziehung von und und verschiedenen Aspekten der Kooperation und Konkurrenz zwischen den beiden Fachgebieten und ihren Protagonist:innen auseinandergesetzt. Mein Aufsatz »Miteinander, nebeneinander oder aneinander vorbei?« findet sich in Heft 4 (2024), Seite 332–343.

I pondered over the relationship of and in the German-speaking countries, and examined different aspects of collaboration, cooperation, and competition between the two fields and their protagonists. My article »Along with, side by side, or past each other« appears in Die Musikforschung 77, no. 4 (2024): 332–343.